I, like a lot of Memphians this week, was surprised to learn that John Calipari considered and eventually accepted the University of Kentucky position as head basketball coach. With Coach Cal leaving, the high school recruits are deciding to go elsewhere and many of the former players are considering transferring or taking a shot at the NBA.

The University of Memphis is now in a tough situation because they want to keep their basketball status that has been built. The U of M would like to be considered a powerhouse in basketball with its rich tradition of doing well in multiple eras. However, the coaching prospects are not excited about coaching in the Conference USA nor do they believe that Memphis has the status that say, University of North Carolina has.

So, what can we learn from this from a fitness and health standpoint? First, I believe that Memphis depended on John Calipari too much and allowed him to do pretty much whatever he wanted. To relate this to fitness, do not put so much responsibility on your personal trainer that if something happens, you cannot continue to do the Power of 5 concepts on your own, at least to some degree. Currently, I give a lot of my clients responsibility to do some exercise and most nutritional components on their own so they do NOT have to depend on me every single session. This way I know that clients are empowered with the correct information to do things on their own. It is indeed the information that is important, not me simply looking over their shoulder and counting to 10 for 3 sets. If Memphis would have taken more responsibility for the contracts of the coach and players, they would not have let Calipari and the players have such an easy way out, which has left Memphis twiddling its thumbs trying to figure out what to do.

The other point I want to make is finding a way to do fitness for the long haul not in little short-term durations. It is important to have micro-goals, but the bigger picture is what is important when it comes to fitness. Now, Memphis has to find a coach that will be there for Memphis not to use it simply as a stepping-stone. Finding a wow-coach is great, but the coach needs to see the potential of Memphis, not just a job to get to greener, or in this case bluer, pastures. Your health and fitness goals need to be focused on the long haul so you can defy current aging and disease trends while looking and feeling great. Find a personal trainer that has been in your shoes and someone who genuinely cares. Don’t find some trainer who is trying to simply make a buck on their natural genetics and who is looking for the next great thing.

I believe I have the best clients in the city of Memphis, not because of their natural genetics, but because of their ability to take the necessary information and apply to achieve great things. I simply provide the information. This is what the University of Memphis needs: a person who sees what Memphis can do and let them work hard to achieve outstanding results.

Be Better,

Dexter

This is the New Year and many people have decided they are going to stop their inactive ways and begin exercising. You can tell by the packed gyms across the city. It seems everyone has the bug to shed those extra pounds and become more healthy.

It is a funny thing that in January, there is always a huge increase in sales for the fitness industry. However, in March, the gyms seem to be pretty empty and that “boom” they received in January is now a thing of the past.

Why is it that this occurs? There are numerous reasons, but one big reason is due to time. Today, it seems that being a human requires so much time and there just isn’t enough hours in the day to “fit fitness in.” I like that term because a fellow personal trainer friend, Holly Kouvo, uses that as her business name. Visit her site at http://www.fittingfitnessin.com/. She has helped many people lose over 100 pounds of fat with her services. I am glad to be a friend of hers.

If you want to “fit fitness in” you have to ask yourself a question. This question is “Does my current body, fitness performance, and/or health status cause me pleasure or pain?” Honestly sit down and think about that question. Answer it truthfully. Your answer will probably surprise you. If your answer is “pain,” you now need to ask yourself a new question. This question is, “If I could find a very efficient way to exercise and eat better, can I fit fitness into my life?” Initially, your mind will try to go to the negative and say “no.” If this is the case, I want you to refrain from this thought process. Answer the question with a “yes.” Now, begin to think about your entire day. Think of the possible gaps in your schedule you have. Maybe you work 12 hour days, but as soon as you get home, you watch TV for an hour. Maybe you have some time in the morning you spend with yourself before you go to work. Maybe you goof around in 20 minute time spaces a couple of times a day (You know what I am talking about corporate world =). I have yet to find anyone who doesn’t have some time that isn’t efficient.

Now you have done the pre-requisite questions, you now know you want to improve your body and mind, and you have found time in your day. The final step is to sit down at a calender and block out time with yourself. This time is a scheduled appointment most days of the week for you and you alone. No one nor anything can break it. You sat down and thought about this time as exercise time and now it’s yours! The work has to wait (Where is it going, by the way?). The children have to either play on their own or exercise with you! The husband or wife has to understand and support. The dog has to wait until it’s cardio time. This is your time and no one can take it away from you.

When completing your workout, put a check my your calender to let yourself know you did it. Having a lot of check marks on a calender really has the feeling that getting a lot of stickers from the teacher for getting good grades feels. Plus, it gets you consistent with exercise, which is one of the real tricks to it all. 

Scheduling time to “fit fitness in” with a calender is such a great tool to use. You can even use it with just about everything in your life. I kid with my clients, “If it ain’t in my calender, it ain’t happening.” I have to live by my calender due to meeting clients and I do the same with exercise. Get that calender and begin to succeed!

Be Better,

Dexter

Best for Fitness?

I was recently taken aback by a client’s statement. While discussing the option of reopening a permanent location, she informed me that when people go into a fitness studio, they have a minimum expectation of exercise equipment. However, as fitness knowledge has advanced we have learned that stationary equipment is not only unnecessary but can be a hindrance.

In the 1970s, Nautilus came out with their first exercise line of machinery. The intention was to use each piece of equipment for a specific type of training called HIT (High Intensity Training). The cams on the machine allowed bodybuilders to hold the static position safely. So, an example of HIT training using Nautilus equipment is the leg extension. You can extend the leg while sitting and hold that position statically for a period of time. Also, Nautilus figured out that they could make a profit by selling a whole line of equipment to gyms. This would, theoretically, allow clients who go to the gym exercise “safely” without the fear of dropping weights or getting injured.

The pinnacle of success for exercise machines occurred from the 1980s thru the 1990s. Every gym had to have at least one line of equipment in order to be considered a proper gym. However, around 2000, fitness experts began to come out and criticize the sole use of exercise machines. They had three main concerns: active injury, passive injury, and limited ability.

Since the machines are “stuck” using the same exact motion every time there is an increased chance for overuse injuries. Imagine a biceps curl machine moving up and down only. This could create an injury similar to tennis elbow since the tennis player must perfect the same exact stroke every time.

Because the person must sit in order to use the machine, the core muscles of the body are not activated (at least not very much!). The best example is the upright, seated chest press machine. The person pushes the weight in front of their chest while having a fairly relaxed core. The sitting position deactivates the hip flexors (the muscles in the front of the hips) and abdominal muscles. If the person is rounding their back, this can increase the chance for injury as well.

Life is full of movement and muscle isolation alone is not functional. Functional training is simply exercising in a way the body was meant to move, not force your body into unnatural positions. Machines can only work a few body parts at a time. When a person uses more functional equipment like dumbbells, bands, kettle-bells, etc. they are able to imitate real life movements and work on the kinetic chain of movement.

You can visualize the kinetic chain this way: imagine you want to lift a box and put it on a shelf above you. This requires you to reach above your head. You pick up the item from the floor and your legs and core are activated in order for you to lift. As you move to stand upright, muscle activation changes from your legs and core to your upper body and arms. When you begin to place the item over your head, the shoulder, arm, and core muscles are activated in order to allow you to complete your lift. This movement simply cannot be replicated with traditional resistance machines.

The observation of the obvious limitations in resistance machines has created a paradigm shift in the way we think of health and fitness. A return to “old school” techniques arose and post-modern functional training emerged. The beautiful thing about functional training is that you need very little equipment in order to achieve outstanding results. This equipment can be considered “low technology” because they are simple pieces of equipment, very similar to what the Greeks and Spartans might have used when preparing for battle or the Olympic games. Dumbbells, tires, jump ropes, stability balls, rubber tubing or ropes are really all a person needs to get into the best shape of their life! Plus, they are all easily stored or transported.

The paradigm shift takes the emphasis away from the machines and puts it towards the knowledge of functional movement. However, returning to my concerned client, since the masses have been exposed to the “machine era” of fitness they have been conditioned to think that only the machine will give them the desired result. I am here to tell you it is not the machine that will give you the desired result. All you need is simply the correct knowledge to transform your body and health! If you only have some free weights that challenge your body, you have the ability to do great things.

Be Better,

Dexter